Project Blackbox

Sun has announced their Project Blackbox: a modular, prefab, stackable, shipping container-based, portable supercomputing and data storage warehouse – ideal for pirate utopias. “After today,” they say, “you’ll never look at an ordinary shipping container quite the same way again. Project Blackbox is a prototype of the world’s first virtualized datacenter – built into a shipping container and optimized to deliver extreme energy, space, and performance efficiencies.” Project Blackbox is “a glimpse into the fast, cost-effective datacenter deployments coming in the near future.” Somewhat incredibly, “[t]he Project Blackbox prototype is a computing powerhouse capable of hosting a configuration that would place it among the top 200 fastest supercomputers globally.”

Outdoing Archigram – who once dreamed of air-lifting whole prefab command/control systems into the wild, where, at the push of a button, computerized instant cities and other “plug-inscapes” could take form – Sun continues:

Project Blackbox packages compute, storage, and network infrastructure capabilities into scalable, modular units outfitted with state-of-the-art cooling, monitoring, and power distribution systems. Customers will be able to order a variety of standard and custom configurations of systems, storage, networking, and software. Housed in a standard 20-foot shipping container for maximum flexibility, Project Blackbox will be easily transported using common shipping methods. Simple hookups for water, AC power, and networking will enable customers to quickly deploy Project Blackbox upon delivery.

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12 thoughts on “Project Blackbox”

The description make these things just the ticket for dealing with massive supply, deployment, and tracking operations. I imagine them set up around Baghdad, so that the movement of every person entering into and moving around the city can be predicted, tracked, and intercepted at will. I also imagine them around the Pacific Rim, such that even the slightest tremblors produce localised plans for mobilisation and emergency management. we might also find them being driven to Reno and Atlantic City, or Monaco, and equipped with short-range narrow frequency radio transceivers. Thereafter, they might be found near financial districts, and rented at day rates by news networks at election times.